Tongguan is difficult to break, especially the Son of Heaven Liu Xie supervises the battle on the pass every day, which not only boosts the morale of the soldiers guarding the pass, but also greatly reduces the morale of the Yuan army who tackled the key problems.

Not everyone is bent on following Yuan Shao to rebel, and Yuan Shao has not yet gained the popularity of the people who can replace him. Most of Yuan's soldiers will join the army or to make ends meet. Let them fight with princes like Gongsun Zhan who are equivalent to Yuan Shao, they have no problem, but they can directly aim the sword and gun in their hands at the Son of Heaven, which makes people a little numb.

Yuan Shao hated that the Son of Heaven would not die, and wished that Liu Xie would be killed by a battlefield arrow, but he really killed the king, and he didn't have the guts. Seeing that the war had reached a stalemate, Yuan Shao had to start thinking about withdrawing troops even if he was unwilling. And the defeat of Zhang He and Gao Ran made the unwilling Yuan Shao angry, and the loss of more than 10,000 cavalry, even the wealthy Yuan Shao felt distressed. Cavalry is different from infantry, infantry can be trained in three or five months, while cavalry needs much more time and money to train than infantry.

In anger, Yuan Shao was about to behead Zhang He, who returned to the camp to ask for guilt, but fortunately, Xu Yu was present at that time, and persuaded Yuan Shao to behead the generals before the battle, which was not conducive to the battle. Yuan Shao spared Zhang He's life, but the death penalty can be avoided, the living crime is unforgivable, and the spine cane is eighty to see the after-effects.

Eighty canes, if the executioner secretly does evil, can beat people to death. Fortunately, Zhang He is usually popular, and he is frustrated and Xu Yu secretly takes care of him, Zhang He just passed out, but he did not worry about his life. However, in the next period of war, Zhang He did not have a chance to participate.

Yuan Shao hated Zhang He for being incompetent, losing his face and losing face, and he didn't want to see Zhang He again for the time being. Seeing this, Xu You made a statement to Yuan Shao and asked Zhang He to replace Chun Yuqiong to guard the grain and grass. It's just that Yuan Shao doubted Zhang He's ability because of Zhang He's defeat, and denied Xu You's suggestion, just asking Zhang He to be sent to Luoyang to recuperate.

Xu You would propose to let Zhang He replace Chun Yuqiong, that was just to find a place for Zhang He to recuperate, Yuan Shao intended to let Zhang He go to Luoyang, then Xu You's goal was achieved, and he didn't pester Yuan Shao anymore. Moreover, with Xu You's understanding of Yuan Shao, it is unlikely that Yuan Shao will hand over the grain and grass to someone other than Chun Yuqiong.

Zhang He was sent away, and in order to ensure the smooth flow of the grain route, Yuan Shao had to transfer people here, but this time he didn't expect Gao Ran anymore, but let Han Rong and Jiang Yiqu go out. Moreover, this time, the soldiers and horses led by Han Rong and Jiang Yiqu were all cavalry, and Fu Zhu went with them as a military advisor with the army. As for Gao Lan, he took his men and horses to Luoyang. At this time, Yuan Shao also had to start thinking about retreat, and Luoyang was a necessary stronghold to ensure that Yuan Shao could return home safely. Crossing the Yellow River from Mengjin back to Hebei is the safest and most recent route.

Yuan Shao's six strategists, Tian Feng has been kicked out, frustrated was sent to deal with Zhao Yun and Pang De, Xin Ping also followed Gao Ran to Luoyang, and the trial had returned to Yecheng, Hebei Province a few days ago, to supervise the transportation of grain and grass for Yuan Shao, and now those who remain with Yuan Shao are Xu You, Feng Ji and Guo Tu, who has just been recalled by Yuan Shao.

One person has one idea, and when the six strategists gather, it often makes Yuan Shao in a dilemma and difficult to decide, thus delaying a lot of things. But now that there are fewer people, the fight is more fierce than usual. One side goes to the east, the other side wants to go west, Guo Tu is lonely because of his strength, and this period of time is not light enough to call Xu Yu and Feng Ji, so that Guo Tu holds a grudge.

But today Guo Tu is not angry, because he has just received the news from Yecheng, saying that Xu You's family members who stayed in Yecheng secretly resold grain and grass and asked Yecheng to stay behind and take a correct match. At present, the lord Yuan Shaozheng is annoyed that Tongguan has not been able to attack for a long time, if he knew that Xu Yu still dared to make a fortune at this time, it would be useless for many years.

Guo Tu, who was waiting to see a good show, arrived at Yuan Shao's tent early, and according to the time estimate, even today, the envoy from Yecheng would arrive here. Xu You, who had already done a good job arguing with Guo Tu, found that Guo Tu had died down today, although he wondered in his heart, he didn't think about it, he just put forward his own opinion to Yuan Shao, since Tongguan is difficult to break, why not withdraw the army for the time being and fight again another day.

Yuan Shao already had a certain psychological preparation for the inconclusivity of this battle, but for the sake of face, it was not good for him to take the initiative to talk about the withdrawal of the army, and now that Xu You took the initiative to bring it up, Yuan Shao was naturally ready to get off the donkey. It's just that before he could agree to Xu You's suggestion, the messenger sent by the trial asked to see him.

A letter, Yuan Shao's face changed greatly when he saw half of it, and Xu You, who didn't know what was going on, asked Yuan Shao curiously what the letter said. Yuan Shao trusted the trial, knowing that Zhengnan was not a person who was a man of false promises, not to mention that he had obtained both stolen goods, as long as he sent someone back to check the truth, it was impossible for the trial to deceive himself in this kind of matter.

Looking at Xu You just now, he still felt that Xu You was empathetic, but when he looked at Xu You again at this time, Yuan Shao felt a burst of disgust. On the surface, he is extremely loyal, but behind the scenes, he takes the opportunity to make a fortune......

"Ziyuan, take a look for yourself." Yuan Shao handed the letter in his hand to Xu You, Xu You took it and only looked at it twice, his face changed, and he hurriedly looked up at Yuan Shao, and saw that Yuan Shao was as cold as ice. Xu You hurriedly knelt on the ground and reported: "Lord Mingjian, you really don't know about this. ”

"Hmph, if it weren't for the many years of friendship, I would have ordered someone to push you out and behead you right now. Get out! Yuan Shao snorted coldly and shouted angrily.

Xu You knew that Yuan Shao was angry at this time, and he didn't say anything, at this time the explanation was equivalent to adding fuel to the fire, and when he heard Yuan Shao let him get out, Xu You hurriedly accepted the order and withdrew from the camp.

Xu You left, Yuan Shao was left with Feng Ji and Guo Tu, and it was Xu You who proposed to withdraw from the army before, and at this time, the main owner who proposed to withdraw was gone, and Feng Ji and Guo Tu did not dare to continue to talk about the withdrawal at this time. At this time, Yuan Shao, who was in a bad mood, was not in the mood to continue the discussion, and ordered Feng Ji and Guo Tu to come back in the afternoon, so he sent the two away.

Guo Tu went back to his tent to have fun, and Feng Ji found Xu You and asked what happened, which made Yuan Shao's attitude towards Xu You suddenly change greatly.

Xu You smiled bitterly and said, "Yuan Tu, judge the south and harm me." ”

"Huh? Ziyuan, hasn't Zhengnan always been neutral? Why did you suddenly ......?"

"Yuan Tu, it's not that Zhengnan has a personal grudge with me, but that he shouldn't tell the lord about my family's secret reselling of grain and grass at this time. At present, the lord is in a dilemma, and it is the time when someone needs to propose to withdraw from the army, and his letter is not sent sooner or later, even if the lord has the heart to retreat, it will be delayed for a period of time due to his face. It's just that the longer the time drags on now, the worse it will be for us. ”

"Ziyuan, are you too worried?" Feng Ji said with some disbelief.

"Yuantu, it's not that I'm alarmist. You also know that the lord is a good-looking person, and he will definitely not say such a thing as taking the initiative to withdraw from the army, and it is because of this that I will propose to withdraw from the army today. You can see that the lord did not object to me when he raised this matter, which is enough to prove that the lord may have already thought of withdrawing from the army. But now that there is such a thing, the lord will probably not mention the matter of retiring the army in a short period of time. ”

"Does it make a difference if it's earlier and later?"

"The army has not moved, the grain and grass go first, Zhang He and Gao Ran have been defeated, even if the lord sends Han Rong, Jiang Yiqu, and Fu Zhu, but if you want to solve Zhao Yun and Pang De, who are all cavalry, it will take a while. During this time, the food routes of our army will not be stable. Moreover, at this time, Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Sun Ce all retreated, and these three families are now too busy to take care of themselves, and there is almost no help they can provide to the lord, which also allows the imperial court to concentrate on dealing with my Hebei. Don't think that the imperial court will really only defend, judging from the war during this period of time, the imperial court officials and troops are quite difficult to deal with, and I am afraid that they will not watch our army withdraw. The longer it drags on, the more prepared the court will be. ”

"Ziyuan, since you think that the sooner you retire, the better, why don't you go with me to explain it to the Lord?"

"Yuan Tu, you forgot that the lord is a good-looking person, he just kicked me out, if I go to see me immediately, even if what I say is right, the lord will not listen. What's more, there is also Guo Tu who is not dealing with us by the side of the lord who is fanning the flames. ”

"What then?"

"Right now, you are the only one who can persuade the lord to withdraw the army, Yuan Tu, don't pay attention to Guo Tu, even if the lord does not agree to withdraw immediately, you must ask the lord to send men and horses to keep the road for the army to retreat unobstructed."

“…… I try as much as I can. Feng Ji replied uncertainly.

……

Yuan Shao did not order Xu You to be driven out of the camp as in history, and Xu You did not abandon Yuan as in history. Through Fengji, Xu Yu pleaded guilty to Yuan Shao, and returned to Yecheng to think about it behind closed doors. And Yuan Shao didn't think much about it, because he had already accepted Feng Ji's suggestion and began to consider the proposal of the army to withdraw to Hebei.

Although Guo Tu didn't want to echo Feng Ji's proposal to withdraw from the army, he also understood the thoughts of the lord Yuan Shao at this time, and of course he would not go against the lord. With the advice of the two of them, Yuan Shao began to prepare for the retreat of the army.

Xu You, who returned to Yecheng on his own, specially visited Zhang He and Gao Ran when he passed through Luoyang. Poor Zhang He couldn't move around at will at this time, and was left at home by Gao Lanqiang to recuperate. When Xu You saw Zhang He, Zhang He was strolling around his yard.

"Sir, did you come with an order from your lord?" Zhang He's first sentence after seeing Xu You was this, but Xu You shook his head with a wry smile after hearing it, "Junyi, I'm disappointed, I'm not here to follow the lord's orders." To tell you the truth, at the moment I am also guilty, this time I passed by Luoyang just to visit you, and I will leave to return to Yecheng to think about it behind closed doors. ”

"Huh? What did the gentleman do wrong? Zhang He asked curiously.

"Alas~ The family is unfortunate, someone in the family is secretly reselling grain and grass at this time, and asked the judge to take it right, and sent a letter to the lord, which made me hate the lord." Xu You shook his head and smiled bitterly.

After hearing this, Zhang He couldn't help but shake his head and smile bitterly, "This trial Zhengnan is really good at picking the time." ”

"This matter cannot be judged." Xu You answered casually, and then said to Zhang He: "Junyi, I am here to visit your injury, and secondly, I want to ask you to join forces with Berman, and be sure to guard Luoyang for the lord. ”

"Sir, does the lord intend to withdraw from the army?"

"If it weren't for the fact that this letter was not sent at the wrong time, I am afraid that the lord would have ordered preparations for the withdrawal of the army at this time. But now ......"

"In that case, I wonder what Mr. needs me to do?"

"Guard Luoyang and Mengjin, and pay attention to the movements of the Tiger Pass."

Zhang He understood Xu You's intention to let him guard Luoyang and Mengjin, but he was a little puzzled by Xu You's special reminder to pay attention to the Tiger Pass, "Sir, aren't Cao Cao and us allies?" ”

"The catastrophe is coming, each of them flies, this time the lord Qingjun side failed, Cao Cao for his own back road, it is difficult to guarantee that he will not attack the lord. Don't forget, after the end of the Dong Alliance, Cao Cao was the first to plead guilty to Dong Thief. ”

“…… Now it is Lu Bu who guards the Tiger Prison, this person is brave and good at fighting, I am afraid that I and Berman will not be able to do it, can Sir stay and help me. ”

"I have now wicked my lord, and if I stay, I am afraid it will hurt you and Berman. With Xin Zhongzhi in Luoyang, you can rest assured. ”

"But Berman doesn't like Xin Zhongzhi." Zhang He frowned and said.

"Hmm...... It doesn't matter, I'll go back and advise Berman to focus on the big picture. ”

……

Wancheng

Unlike Yuan Shao and the Son of Heaven who fought fiercely in Tongguan, Liu Bei was standing outside the city gate waiting anxiously at this time, and Zhang Fei on the side was also restless at this time.

Today is not an ordinary day, but the three brothers of Liu Bei reunited, Zhang Feisheng captured Cao Cao and escorted Cao Cao back to Wancheng. Cao Cao's mistake was captured, which immediately made the Cao group confused, but fortunately, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, and Lu Su stood up at this time.

Since Liu Beisheng captured Cao Cao in exchange for Guan Yu, everything was negotiable. Cheng Yu was in charge of keeping an eye on Lu Bu in the Tiger Prison Pass, and Lu Su took Cao Ren to Shouchun to replace Guan Yu who was guarding against Sun Ce in Shouchun, while Guo Jia asked Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Yuan to collect the defeated troops, and personally presided over the exchange of Guan Yu for Cao Cao.

At present, the Cao Group has no time to take care of Yuan Shao's affairs. And Liu Biao and Sun Ce were also playing in the Jiangxia area at this time, and they didn't have time to pay attention to what happened in Wancheng for the time being.

Liu Bei waited for many days and finally got the result, and the second brother he had been thinking about for a long time was about to return, which made him excited. Guan Yu's team was still twenty miles away from the city, and Liu Bei couldn't help but lead people to meet him.

"General Guan, please let Liu Bei return to my lord first." Guo Jia stopped Guan Yudao, who wanted to step forward to join Liu Bei.

Guan Yu nodded when he heard this, and ordered his eldest son Guan Ping beside him, and after a while, Guo Jia saw his lord Cao Cao riding alone and leaving Liu Bei's camp. Seeing Cao Cao appear, Guo Jia said to Guan Yu: "General Guan is good to go." ”

On one side, Guan Yu and his family followed, and on the other hand, Cao Cao was alone. When the two sides met in the formation of the two armies, Cao Cao looked at Guan Yu and said with some regret: "It's a pity that I can't work with Yun Chang in the end." ”

"Cao Gong has a good journey, and there will be a period later." Guan Yu clenched his fist at Cao Cao and spoke.

“…… Take care of your health. Cao Cao had nothing to say at this time, hugged his fists and saluted, and passed by Guan Yu.

……

"Second brother, you and my brother are finally reunited." Seeing Guan Yu coming back, Liu Bei said to Guan Yu excitedly.

Guan Yu bowed when he heard this, "The little brother is incompetent, which makes the elder brother worry." ”

"Hahaha...... You and I are like brothers, and since you recognize me as a brother, I naturally can't abandon you. Let's go back to the city and talk. Liu Bei said that he pulled Guan Yu with one hand and Zhang Fei with the other, and the three of them walked back together.

On the other side, Guo Jia and others were also pleading guilty to Cao Cao, who had returned, "We are incompetent, let the lord suffer this great humiliation, and ask the lord to punish him." ”

"Fengxiao, if you hadn't waited, how could Cao have returned safely, but you waited hard." Cao Cao stretched out his hand to help everyone up one by one, and said Wen Yan.

"Lord, now that you have returned safely, the last general will ask for battle and teach Liu Bei a lesson." Xu Chu hugged his fists and asked for battle.

"Zhong Kang, don't be impatient, I will have to settle this account with Liu Bei sooner or later, but not now. Fengxiao, let's return to Xudu first. Cao Cao appeased Xu Chu and instructed Guo Jiadao.

Seeing that Cao Cao was not hot-headed and ready to start a war with Liu Bei immediately, Guo Jia couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief in his heart, and hurriedly asked Cao Cao to get on the horse when he heard the words, and on the way back to Xudu, Guo Jia told Cao Cao about the losses counted after the war. Hearing Guo Jia say that he had lost more than half of his family's horses, Cao Cao's heart couldn't help but hurt.

He didn't expect that he would ask Liu Biao and Sun Ce to partner this time. The lesson is terrible, I originally wanted to touch the fish, but I didn't expect the fish to be drowned without touching it.

"What's the situation with Yuan Shao?" Cao Cao asked Guo Jiadao.

"It's not good, although Yuan Shao is still taking the initiative at the moment, but the grain road has been harassed by Zhao Yun and Pang De, and Tongguan is also difficult to capture.

"Hmm...... Seeing that the weather was getting colder and colder, Yuan Shao had to think about the winter of the army. Fengxiao, after I was captured, how did Lu Bu react to the Tiger Prison? Cao Cao nodded and asked again.

"It's quite honest, with Cheng Gong staring at him, even if Lu Bu has a mind, he doesn't dare to act rashly. Ming Gong, if Yuan Shao retreats, how does Ming Gong plan to deal with the imperial court? ”

"How does Bong-hyo think he should deal with the imperial court?"

"The imperial court's response to this battle was too timely, and it even gave people a feeling of being prepared, and Jia was worried that the imperial court would not give up after recovering the four counties of Sizhou."

“…… Earlier, when Lu Bu surrendered to me, he said that he did not want to be an enemy of the imperial court, so in this way, the Tiger Prison Pass is indeed not handed over to Lu Bu. After returning home, he transferred Lu Bu to Runan ......"

"Ming Gong, Sun Ce is afraid that he will not come to find trouble with Ming Gong for a while, but it is Yuan Shao, which is quite worrying."

"Yuan Shao still has the strength to kill me?" Cao Cao was a little unconvinced.

"Ming Gong, Yuan Shao consumed a lot of grain and grass for this battle, and now it is about to enter winter, and it will take nearly a year to wait for the next harvest. Ming Gong thinks that in order to make up for the shortfall, who will Yuan Shao choose? Guo Jia asked rhetorically when he heard this.